Mobile carriers halve the price of the Galaxy S22 in South Korea after throttling issues...

[mongeese]

A hot potato: Samsung came under fire recently for overpromising with its performance figures for the Galaxy S22 series, which thermal throttles in thousands of popular apps but not during benchmarks. The series is now heavily discounted in South Korea, where the outrage was the greatest.

Samsung has included the Game Optimizing Service (GOS) on its phones since 2016. It pre-emptively reduces the SoC's workload in games, but also in apps like Netflix and Spotify to prevent overheating and to lengthen battery life. All phones have power management software with a similar purpose, but GOS attempts to conceal itself by triggering only while apps on a pre-written list are running.

Previous Galaxy S devices have had better cooling than the S22, making GOS less noticeable. But Geekbench has found that GOS was throttling it by as much as 46%. It decided to ban the S22, S21, S20, and S10 from its benchmark rankings, and later, also banned the Galaxy Tab S8.

We view this as a form of benchmark manipulation as major benchmark applications, including Geekbench, are not throttled by this service.

— Geekbench (@geekbench) March 4, 2022

Last month, Samsung's device experience CEO Jong-Hee Han apologized for the situation at Samsung's 54th annual shareholder meeting, and said that the company would never sacrifice the quality of its devices to cut costs.

Whereas the Galaxy S10 series and older models used vapor chambers for cooling, subsequent entrants into the Galaxy S series have used graphite pads to act as heat spreaders. However, the S22 Ultra has a new vapor chamber, indicating that Samsung was aware that the S22's cooling wasn't ideal.

Samsung reportedly chose to forego the base model S22's vapor chamber to cut costs and GOS has been accused of being a band-aid fix. But instead of widening the device's profit margins, the sketchy strategy has resulted in its retail price being driven downward in South Korea, Reuters reports.

According to the outlet, South Korea's three major carriers have nearly halved the upfront price of the handset when purchased as part of their deals. It was launched by the carriers at 999,000 won ($812 USD) but is now being discounted to as low as 549,000 won ($446 USD).

Analysts say that the discount is likely being paid for by Samsung itself. They predict that the company's reputation could suffer in the long term.

The iPhone 13, which has been on the market for five months longer than the S22, has only been sporadically discounted by 150,000 won ($122). Apple's share of the $400+ market in South Korea has recently risen to 60%, while Samsung's has fallen from 20% to 17% in the past year.

Samsung is now also contending with a class-action lawsuit signed by nearly two thousand of its customers seeking compensation for the allegedly misleading advertising. Samsung has since added a toggle to disable GOS, but with it disabled, the S22 is liable to overheating and might have shorter battery life.

Image credit: Zana Latif

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https://www.techspot.com/news/94126-mobile-carriers-halve-price-galaxy-s22-south-korea.html

 

[Sausagemeat]

I will never understand why people pay iPhone money for Samsung phones. iPhones absolutely destroy them in practically every measure.

 

[DaveBG]

I will never understand why people pay iPhone money for Samsung phones. iPhones absolutely destroy them in practically every measure.

... and I bet you will never understand it so calm down. You cant do anything...

 

[Nobina]

I will never understand why people pay iPhone money for Samsung phones. iPhones absolutely destroy them in practically every measure.

"I will never understand why people like things I don't like".

 

[Sausagemeat]

"I will never understand why people like things I don't like".

That’s not what I said. I stated my confusion at why people pay iPhone money for an objectively inferior product.


It’s not a matter of taste. iPhones are faster, they have better cameras, they run games better, they have less compatibility issues, they get dramatically longer software support and updates and at the end of it all they resell for much higher amounts of money. They are objectively better and that’s a fact. That’s why they are so successful. So I wonder why anyone bothers with Samsung…

 

[zamroni111]

I will never understand why people pay iPhone money for Samsung phones. iPhones absolutely destroy them in practically every measure.

it's price of freedom

btw, mediatek dimensity 9000 (tsmc 4nm) gaming performance is better than apple a15.
culprit of sd8g1 performance uncompetitiveness is bad samsung foundry.

 

[eurodj101]

That’s not what I said. I stated my confusion at why people pay iPhone money for an objectively inferior product.


It’s not a matter of taste. iPhones are faster, they have better cameras, they run games better, they have less compatibility issues, they get dramatically longer software support and updates and at the end of it all they resell for much higher amounts of money. They are objectively better and that’s a fact. That’s why they are so successful. So I wonder why anyone bothers with Samsung…

Though u make very good points I have an 13 pro max and a S22 Ultra and for 2 years used the note 20 ultra 5g and have nothing bad to say about either handsets...compared to my iphone I feel its just as good if not better also some people need the option of not haveing to be tied to apple ecosystem......I pesonally have had 3 note devices previous to the s22 ultra and have enjoyed them very much and have had equivalent iphones at the same time and it might be just me but I end up using my android phones more......either way this is a complete blunder and im glad I went for the s22 ultra.....shows at least they dont compromise on their flagship phones...considering u are paying flasgship money.

 

[yRaz]

That’s not what I said. I stated my confusion at why people pay iPhone money for an objectively inferior product.


It’s not a matter of taste. iPhones are faster, they have better cameras, they run games better, they have less compatibility issues, they get dramatically longer software support and updates and at the end of it all they resell for much higher amounts of money. They are objectively better and that’s a fact. That’s why they are so successful. So I wonder why anyone bothers with Samsung…

If you wanted to go after foldables, you might have had a case, but with samsung you get more for less. Flagship phones basically all have the same quallity camera these days and the only difference is in post processing on the side of the phone. Objectively, the quality of flagship phone cameras is up to the owner at this point. iPhone vs Samsung cameras is like arguing Nikon vs Cannon, they both take fantastic pictures.

Faster? Meh, you have to use synthetic benchmarks to even notice what phone is faster at this point. Sure, the iPhones are faster, but are you really going to notice a 20ms difference when hitting the like button on Facebook?

The reason I will never by an iPhone is that they try too hard to tell people what they want. Samsung, and Android phones in general, give you a choice of features and price you want.

And finally, very few people actually pay for their phones. I got my s21+ absolutely for free. With a sale they had, a coupon from the carrier I had and with trade in on my google pixel I got it 100% for free, no monthly payment and no money down. I got my google pixel the same way, for free.

 

[Sausagemeat]

it's price of freedom

btw, mediatek dimensity 9000 (tsmc 4nm) gaming performance is better than apple a15.
culprit of sd8g1 performance uncompetitiveness is bad samsung foundry.

Is it? I don’t game one my phone but Apples chips are generally significantly quicker than the SOCs in Android devices. Where is your source that it’s faster than the latest A series chip?

 

[Sausagemeat]

If you wanted to go after foldables, you might have had a case, but with samsung you get more for less. Flagship phones basically all have the same quallity camera these days and the only difference is in post processing on the side of the phone. Objectively, the quality of flagship phone cameras is up to the owner at this point. iPhone vs Samsung cameras is like arguing Nikon vs Cannon, they both take fantastic pictures.

Faster? Meh, you have to use synthetic benchmarks to even notice what phone is faster at this point. Sure, the iPhones are faster, but are you really going to notice a 20ms difference when hitting the like button on Facebook?

The reason I will never by an iPhone is that they try too hard to tell people what they want. Samsung, and Android phones in general, give you a choice of features and price you want.

And finally, very few people actually pay for their phones. I got my s21+ absolutely for free. With a sale they had, a coupon from the carrier I had and with trade in on my google pixel I got it 100% for free, no monthly payment and no money down. I got my google pixel the same way, for free.

I notice performance on a phone when I video edit and I do most of my editing on a phone as I’m usually out and about. Also your video quality can be affected by CPU performance, with better CPUs giving better HDR at higher framerates and resolutions. It’s how Apple had 4K60 HDR before everyone else. Claiming performance doesn’t matter because you personally don’t need it is a ridiculously poor argument to make in a tech forum.

Also no, flagship phones do not have the same quality of camera. Samsung in particular have been called out by reviewers for being oversaturated. Pixel phones have good cameras according to reviewers, it seems for stills they are better than iPhones but they are worse at video. But Samsung? Not even close.

I’m not wasting anymore time. iPhones ARE objectively superior to Samsung phones. You can pretend they aren’t as much as you like, that’s called being ignorant.

P.S. you still buy your phone when you get it through a carrier. You often usually pay more than the MSRP. I’ve always bought my phone outright as it’s by far the cheapest way where I currently live in the U.K. and this is where resale value comes into its own for me. I will trade in my iPhone 11 Pro Max after 3 years this autumn and il get £300-£400 off my next iPhone. A Samsung equivalent wouldn’t even get half that. Meaning they cost more over the time you own it.

 

[yRaz]

I notice performance on a phone when I video edit and I do most of my editing on a phone as I’m usually out and about. Also your video quality can be affected by CPU performance, with better CPUs giving better HDR at higher framerates and resolutions. It’s how Apple had 4K60 HDR before everyone else. Claiming performance doesn’t matter because you personally don’t need it is a ridiculously poor argument to make in a tech forum.

Also no, flagship phones do not have the same quality of camera. Samsung in particular have been called out by reviewers for being oversaturated. Pixel phones have good cameras according to reviewers, it seems for stills they are better than iPhones but they are worse at video. But Samsung? Not even close.

I’m not wasting anymore time. iPhones ARE objectively superior to Samsung phones. You can pretend they aren’t as much as you like, that’s called being ignorant.

P.S. you still buy your phone when you get it through a carrier. You often usually pay more than the MSRP. I’ve always bought my phone outright as it’s by far the cheapest way where I currently live in the U.K. and this is where resale value comes into its own for me. I will trade in my iPhone 11 Pro Max after 3 years this autumn and il get £300-£400 off my next iPhone. A Samsung equivalent wouldn’t even get half that. Meaning they cost more over the time you own it.

I'm pretty confident in my ability to read my phone bill. I'm paying the standard monthly rate with no added charges from making payments or what not. I honestly don't think I've paid for a phone in the last 10 years. When I traded my Pixel 3 XL in for the S21+ they gave me $400. I can currently get $550 off the s22+ if I trade my S21+ in.

And, lets be frank here, any photo or video a phone takes will objectively be worse than something a dedicated camera can. This has very little to do with the sensor and is entirely up to how light refracts in a prism. You probably don't notice the quality difference on something the size of a phone screen, but if you're actually shooting video to watch on something where 4k matters you can 100% tell the difference between a phone recording and a dedicated camera.

If you want to talk camera and video quality you can put your iPhone against my Sony A7 III. I will put money on the fact that the 1080P60 SDR out of my Sony A7 looks better than your 4k60HDR. If people are serious about photography and video, buy a real camera. Otherwise, you're just arguing with marketing fed to you by reviewers. And those reviewers are fed talking points by manufacturers so they can keep getting review devices to continue making videos to run their channel. The moment you say anything bad about a review product you stop getting review products from that company.

 

[McMurdeR]

That’s not what I said. I stated my confusion at why people pay iPhone money for an objectively inferior product.


It’s not a matter of taste. iPhones are faster, they have better cameras, they run games better, they have less compatibility issues, they get dramatically longer software support and updates and at the end of it all they resell for much higher amounts of money. They are objectively better and that’s a fact. That’s why they are so successful. So I wonder why anyone bothers with Samsung…

I think you have a point actually, however I'm not sold on Apple being the automatic alternative. I admire the iPhone 13 as much as the next guy, but I think I'm happier with the Pixel 6 in my hand. It ticks most of the boxes you've mentioned, it's cheaper, some of the core apps are actually superior, and it doesn't lead into the very high-walled garden that is the Apple eco system. It just isn't for everyone...

 

[Ultraman1966]

I notice performance on a phone when I video edit and I do most of my editing on a phone as I’m usually out and about. Also your video quality can be affected by CPU performance, with better CPUs giving better HDR at higher framerates and resolutions. It’s how Apple had 4K60 HDR before everyone else. Claiming performance doesn’t matter because you personally don’t need it is a ridiculously poor argument to make in a tech forum.

Also no, flagship phones do not have the same quality of camera. Samsung in particular have been called out by reviewers for being oversaturated. Pixel phones have good cameras according to reviewers, it seems for stills they are better than iPhones but they are worse at video. But Samsung? Not even close.

I’m not wasting anymore time. iPhones ARE objectively superior to Samsung phones. You can pretend they aren’t as much as you like, that’s called being ignorant.

P.S. you still buy your phone when you get it through a carrier. You often usually pay more than the MSRP. I’ve always bought my phone outright as it’s by far the cheapest way where I currently live in the U.K. and this is where resale value comes into its own for me. I will trade in my iPhone 11 Pro Max after 3 years this autumn and il get £300-£400 off my next iPhone. A Samsung equivalent wouldn’t even get half that. Meaning they cost more over the time you own it.

Objectively better? I disagree. iOS makes me want to grate my finger tips. I hate it with a vengeance but it is perfect for pensioners like my parents.
To each their own, it is all about having consumer choice. I'm not a Samsung fan but we need a strong alternative (I am a Pixel user though) to provide good competition or everyone loses.

 

[toooooot]

I will never understand why people pay iPhone money for Samsung phones. iPhones absolutely destroy them in practically every measure.

Sir, it is my royal right to install random stuff on my phone. I used Apple products in the past. I found it hurting to not be able to have freedom I have with android.
I agree, Apple OS is better than Android in many aspects. I cant argue that Apple phones hold value way better than Samsung phones.
Apple is literally the best smartphone maker.
But there is a trade off. I used their mobile OS, I did not like the limits.
Since then I only used Motorola and Samsung. Also,Samsung phone quality is great. I have a chance to study how well their older phones last. They do it very well.
Samsung is probably the best Android phone maker in the world. And you dont pay Apple price for them. They kept giving good money if you trade in your phones.

 

[Shaitan]

I will never understand why people pay iPhone money for Samsung phones. iPhones absolutely destroy them in practically every measure.

Well, before Samsung decided to go Apple and remove:
IR sensor, replaceable battery, micro SD card, headphone jack, battery, headphones, charger and screen protector, there was a good reason not to go Apple. The price was smaller for a more environment friendly device. Well. I wouldn't touch a Samsung with a10 feet pole now. Nor would I buy Apple, for that matter. I can't stand a phone without headphone jack and I'll probably go Sony for the next device. Never ever will I buy Apple. I'd rather go Xiaomi or whatever, cheap Pixel. Apple has the very definition of anti repair, anti consumer ecosystem freedom, wall gardened app store exclusivity. Never ever ever would I touch anything from that company. The only nice product I loved was the ipod shuffle. Other than that, eff them.

 

[Solace50]

I'm pretty confident in my ability to read my phone bill. I'm paying the standard monthly rate with no added charges from making payments or what not. I honestly don't think I've paid for a phone in the last 10 years. When I traded my Pixel 3 XL in for the S21+ they gave me $400. I can currently get $550 off the s22+ if I trade my S21+ in.

And, lets be frank here, any photo or video a phone takes will objectively be worse than something a dedicated camera can. This has very little to do with the sensor and is entirely up to how light refracts in a prism. You probably don't notice the quality difference on something the size of a phone screen, but if you're actually shooting video to watch on something where 4k matters you can 100% tell the difference between a phone recording and a dedicated camera.

If you want to talk camera and video quality you can put your iPhone against my Sony A7 III. I will put money on the fact that the 1080P60 SDR out of my Sony A7 looks better than your 4k60HDR. If people are serious about photography and video, buy a real camera. Otherwise, you're just arguing with marketing fed to you by reviewers. And those reviewers are fed talking points by manufacturers so they can keep getting review devices to continue making videos to run their channel. The moment you say anything bad about a review product you stop getting review products from that company.

You pay for the phone in that upsell phone plan surcharge of a phone bill you are paying or its added on to each monthly bill if financed. Most providers no longer provide"free" phones. The last I got from a provider was the S4 years ago, since then no provider has had the same promotion. There is no such thing as a "free" phone these days and it is why there is a market to out right buy phones instead of through the service providers.

Oh yea, and the special "trade in" value to knock down prices lmao, you can list any phone in the second hand market at a higher value. Rarely can you trade in damaged goods that would be hard to sell to get some value out of them. Anything in good condition you are losing more money on the trade in value every time.

 

[yRaz]

You pay for the phone in that upsell phone plan surcharge of a phone bill you are paying or its added on to each monthly bill if financed. Most providers no longer provide"free" phones. The last I got from a provider was the S4 years ago, since then no provider has had the same promotion. There is no such thing as a "free" phone these days and it is why there is a market to out right buy phones instead of through the service providers.

Oh yea, and the special "trade in" value to knock down prices lmao, you can list any phone in the second hand market at a higher value. Rarely can you trade in damaged goods that would be hard to sell to get some value out of them. Anything in good condition you are losing more money on the trade in value every time.

I've been on T-Mobiles "magenta" plan for as long as I can remember, it hasn't changed between my last 3 phones. I'm still paying $70/m. They send me a coupon when my contract is up and combine that with my trade-in value, then I look at what promotions they're running at the time. The only thing I pay is the tax on the would-be value of the phone. Considering how much I use my phone for work and THAT I use it for work, I can easily justify $70/m as well as right it off on my taxes.

And you're correct, you cannot trade in damaged goods, but I always buy the best case available for a phone and I haven't broken a screen since my S5. I work commercial construction so my phones don't exactly see light duty.

 

[Solace50]

I've been on T-Mobiles "magenta" plan for as long as I can remember, it hasn't changed between my last 3 phones. I'm still paying $70/m. They send me a coupon when my contract is up and combine that with my trade-in value, then I look at what promotions they're running at the time. The only thing I pay is the tax on the would-be value of the phone. Considering how much I use my phone for work and THAT I use it for work, I can easily justify $70/m as well as right it off on my taxes.

And you're correct, you cannot trade in damaged goods, but I always buy the best case available for a phone and I haven't broken a screen since my S5. I work commercial construction so my phones don't exactly see light duty.

If you paid 70$ a month for the "last 3 phones" you most definitely paid for them . All your "coupons" are factored into what you have paid over the years and how much they have made off you in the past and will in the future. Most people are just oblivious to this and only see what they get at the time of point of sale. There has been plenty of unlimited plans at nearly half the cost for many years even if your work required an excess of outgoing calls.

You can trade in damaged goods sometimes, its the only reason some people will trade in a phone for 50-100$ since repairs are not worth the cause. Trade in value on good items is you still losing on 3-500$ of value most of the time.

 

[Puiu]

This is why I just paid a fraction of that price for an Xiaomi 11T
The value is just too good compared to anything else on the market and I don't need a top of the line flagship phone.

 

[yRaz]

If you paid 70$ a month for the "last 3 phones" you most definitely paid for them . All your "coupons" are factored into what you have paid over the years and how much they have made off you in the past and will in the future. Most people are just oblivious to this and only see what they get at the time of point of sale. There has been plenty of unlimited plans at nearly half the cost for many years even if your work required an excess of outgoing calls.

You can trade in damaged goods sometimes, its the only reason some people will trade in a phone for 50-100$ since repairs are not worth the cause. Trade in value on good items is you still losing on 3-500$ of value most of the time.

considering that each of my phones was about $1000, that's ~$42/m over 24 months. That brings my bill down to $28/m. People buy their phone outright and still pay $70/m for service. So you tell me, who's coming out on top? me or them? The people who buy their phones and still pay $70/m are the ones paying for my Coupons at the end of my contract.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

Let those prices come over here in the states and I'll get a new samsung phone.

I'm not in need of some super handheld gaming device and I couldn't care less if it "throttled" for apps that draw heavy power or create high heat. I don't stream Netflix on my phone, I play the occasional game on my phone (not something like PUBG or anything demanding, just Soduko or Solitare and such games), I don't sit and watch youtube, I'm not on social media.....

My 5 year old Samsung S8, the battery is showing it's age and I'd like to find something new that's not price gouging you for hardware that hasn't really changed over the past 5-8 years.

 

[PEnnn]

I will never understand why people pay iPhone money for Samsung phones. iPhones absolutely destroy them in practically every measure.

And those same pathetic Android people, after paying money that equals the price of the IPhone, turn around and whine that people paid too much for the IPhone!!

 

[Puiu]

And those same pathetic Android people, after paying money that equals the price of the IPhone, turn around and whine that people paid too much for the IPhone!!

I doubt it. most people that complain about the price of the Apple products are not wrong and they also don't buy the most expensive Android phones.

 

[Hikibo Fori]

I've been on T-Mobiles "magenta" plan for as long as I can remember, it hasn't changed between my last 3 phones. I'm still paying $70/m. They send me a coupon when my contract is up and combine that with my trade-in value, then I look at what promotions they're running at the time. The only thing I pay is the tax on the would-be value of the phone. Considering how much I use my phone for work and THAT I use it for work, I can easily justify $70/m as well as right it off on my taxes.

And you're correct, you cannot trade in damaged goods, but I always buy the best case available for a phone and I haven't broken a screen since my S5. I work commercial construction so my phones don't exactly see light duty.

You're still paying $70/m - $840/y
I'm paying $10/m - $120/y. Europe, Austrian A1.
That's why you definitely deserve a new flagship every few years for "free".

 

[Axeia]

I will never understand why people pay iPhone money for Samsung phones. iPhones absolutely destroy them in practically every measure.

It's because they spend a buttload on advertising making them look premium.

Although I don't disagree that iPhones have superior performance there's many reasons not to go with them. It's such a walled off garden, they decide what you can and can't install. They decide how you can pay for things (spoiler: only in a way were they get 30%), they decided that only they are allowed to repair the phone with ever increasing steps towards making it impossible for third parties. Then to make it worse they don't really do repairs for a lot of stuff generating needless ewaste.

I'll just stick to my Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S, not the greatest phone, not the most repairable phone, definitely not the best camera. But all of these are forgivable when you don't charge an arm and a leg and I got this phone dirt cheap .

Still miss my good old Nokia N900 though, Android is more open than iOS but it could be better.